


Life Goes On

by Johnstonmara353



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25143403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johnstonmara353/pseuds/Johnstonmara353
Summary: The night after Amy’s death is the hardest for her. Daryl is there. And he’s not leaving.
Relationships: Andrea/Daryl Dixon
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Life Goes On

Life Goes On

Andrea/Daryl Dixon

Summary: The night after Amy’s death is the hardest for her. Daryl is there. And he’s not leaving. 

Daryl listened to her guilt wrenching, grief stricken sobs for two hours. The screaming, the cries of anger, the sobs. He heard it all. The RV walls doing very little to muffle the sound. After Amy had been shot, Andrea had taken refuge in the RV, locking the door behind her. Refusing to open it for anyone that knocked. Refusing to talk through the window when Jackie tried to comfort her. Andrea had completely shut down. Blocking everyone out of her world and letting the grief take over.

It had taken Amy almost two days to reanimate. For two days, Andrea sat by the dead body that was once her twenty-one year old kid sister. Ignoring Jackie when she tried to pull the grief stricken woman away from Amy’s bloody corpse. She pointed a gun in Rick’s face she he tried to take her away. She heard Lori defending her when Rick and Daryl wanted to go ahead and take the shot. End all the suffering for everyone. But she still didn’t respond when the brunette tried to talk her away from the ledge. It was Dale that finally broke down the wall. But even he couldn’t get her to unlock the RV door. 

There wasn’t anything anyone needed inside the RV. All the guns and water bottles were either on the hip of its owner or on the little picnic table by the fire. If they had needed anything, Daryl would have gladly picked the lock on the door and gone in whether she liked it or not. But since they had no reason to invade her privacy, he just listened. Listening to her cries for Amy. Listening to her begging whatever deity she believed in to bring her back. Imagining her face as she cried with all she was worth. Imagining the pain that was etched across her features. Listening to her agony brought his closer and closer to the surface. Daryl tightened his grip on his bow before dropping it next to the RV’s door. He wouldn’t need it any time soon. He ran his hands through his short hair, pacing back and forth beside the RV like a caged lion. He wanted to do something. Wanted to stop the woman’s screams and cries. Wanted it all to be a nightmare for the both of them. 

Everyone in camp could hear the woman’s cries. Could hear the grief with every sob. A few of them joining in with her. Lori and Carol trying to stop their own tears as they silently fell. Amy was so young and vulnerable, it was almost like losing another child for them. Carl and Sophia having the most difficult time, besides Andrea. Daryl could see them clinging to their parents. Their eyes closed tight but the tears steadily falling. Their sobs not going unheard. They had spent so much time with Amy over the last few weeks. She taught them how to fish while Andrea was away. Colored with them when they had the opportunity to find crayons and read to them out of Dale’s limited collection of children’s books. But it wasn’t their sobs he was beginning to get concerned about. It had been two hours since anyone was able to physically check on Andrea. She hadn’t had any water. She hadn’t had any sleep. Daryl would have thought she would have cried herself into exhaustion by now. Rick was beginning to question whether or not someone should force her to come out or at least check on her. Shane was just getting frustrated with the screaming, beginning to pace back and forth with his hands balled into fists. That was the last person that needed to deal with Andrea at that point. And Dale was beginning to get worried. He was like a father that couldn’t take away his daughters pain. He just sat close to the bedroom window waiting for Andrea to open it. Jackie holding his hand, saying a pray out loud. 

Daryl finally had enough. He couldn’t listen to the cries any longer. Couldn’t watch the agony on everyone’s faces, but watching them doing nothing to stop it. She was gonna make herself sick and no one was gonna be able to help her. That was his biggest fear. She was already dehydrated and exhausted. It wouldn’t take much for her to just slip away. He pulled the small knife out of his pocket and nudged Dale out of the way. “I’m going in.” He slipped the knife between the door and the jam and went to work. Determined to reach the woman that was tearing his heart into pieces. Determined to stop her pain and maybe ease his own in the process. 

Dale watched the man work. Eyes wide with concern. He wanted to get to Andrea as much as Daryl, but was more concerned with how she would react once they were inside. He didn’t want her to cause her more grief. “How’d you know how to do that?” he asked, staring at the knife. 

Daryl smiled. “Boy scout.” 

The door popped open and Daryl slipped inside. Having to force Dale behind the door in order to get up onto the first step. Promising to come out and let them know what was going on. He locked the door behind him as he turned around to find the sobbing woman. He was almost surprised that the cries were much louder and harsher inside the RV. As he walked up the steps, he saw her laying in the back of the RV. Her head buried in the blanket. Her entire body shaking with each breath. He had never heard pure agony like he was heard coming from her small body. He wanted to cover his ears in order to muffle the screams. Instead, he took a deep breath and embraced them.

He walked to the back of the RV, slipping his shoes off to prevent the bedding from getting anymore dirt on it, and climbed into the bed behind her. She knew he was there. She just didn’t care. She had heard the RV door open. Heard him talking to Dale before locking the door again. She heard it all. Andrea just wasn’t processing it. She wasn’t processing her surroundings. Her senses completely clouded by her guilt and grief. 

Daryl wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her hard against his chest. Her body shaking in his arms. Her sobs never ceasing. Only now she cried and screamed into his chest. Asking him why between gasps. What frightened him the most was when he wrapped his arms around her tighter and she didn’t pull away. She didn’t fight him. She clung to him like he was her anchor. Something finally to save her from her own misery. 

He hadn’t known what he was going to do when he had opened the door to the RV. But when he saw her. Saw her sobbing in pure agony. He knew exactly what he needed to do. He held her closer to him. Wiping the hair from her sweat covered face. Kissing her forehead before burying his face in her hair. She needed to be held. She needed someone to catch her as she was falling into that dark abyss. She needed someone to pull her back into the light. “It’s gonna be okay, love,” he whispered against her ear. It was a new side of Daryl Dixon that very few people got a chance to see. He was passionate. He cared very deeply for people. And not being able to take aware her pain was killing him. He wanted more than anything to suffer for her. To bring Amy back. To bring Merle back. If they had just stayed in the Quarry, Amy would have been fine. 

Andrea couldn’t think, she could barely breath. Her heart felt as if it were being pulled from her chest. She had barely heard them calling to her outside the RV walls. The only sound that filled her ears were Amy’s screams. Amy’s cries for help. She could still hear her last gasp of breath. Could still see the fear in her eyes as they glazed over. She could hear the gunshot over and over again. Seeing Amy’s face as she pulled the trigger. Feeling her body shutter against her own as she died. As the shot rang out in her ears again, she clutched Daryl’s shirt tighter in her fist. Her knuckles turning white. If it had been anyone else, she would have turned them away. But she clung to the redneck that had given her nothing but grief. The man that wanted to rip her away from her sister’s dead body. That man that had suggested he shoot her while she was still her Andrea’s arms. 

Daryl had thought of all the harsh things he had ever said to her. He had treated her like a burden from the very beginning. Never giving her a chance. Never taking much of what she said to heart. He treated like a dumb blonde. Like she wasn’t worth anything. Now, he wanted to take everything back. Take every harsh word he ever said to her and replace it with what he should have said. He could have been encouraging her when she would try things. He could have taught her a few things before he went back into the city. He could have spent five minutes and tried to understand her. Instead, he treated like he treated everyone else. He had pushed her away. Had made it clear he didn’t want to get to know her. But he was there with her. Holding her. Soothing her. Forgetting everything that had ever happened. He could feel her body shaking as she clung to him. Her cries piercing through every thought and consumed him. His hand stroking her back. The other brushing the tears from her cheek. “I know, love,” he muttered, kissing her temple. His body relaxing, hoping to trick her brain into responding to the slow beat of his heart and the steadiness of his breath. 

Andrea could hear him talking to her. Wanted to focus on his words, but the constant thoughts running through her head just ripped at her heart even more. Amy was her baby sister. She was supposed to take care of her. She had failed Amy all her life. Had never shown up when she promised she would. Had never called when she had promised she would. She was too busy with her own selfish life. And then the voices began to overwhelm her. Reminding her of how horrible she was to her little sister. How many times she made Amy cry when she failed to show up? How many times had she begged her to come home? She inhaled sharply. Daryl’s scent overwhelming her senses sending a shock of temporary reality. “I...” she muttered. It was the first time she had tried to speak in hours. Her voice sore from her harsh cries. She tried to focus on her thoughts. What she wanted to say. Tried to silence the voices in her head. Daryl tightened his arms around her. Giving her something solid to lean in to. Something she could physically feel while she gathered her thoughts between sobs. He felt her swallow hard against his chest. Her hand loosening in the fabric of his shirt. “I was supposed to protect her.” Her voice broke by the end of her sentence. 

Daryl’s heart broke as her voice cracked. His hand continued to stroke up and down her back. Her body on fire beneath his touch. He was grateful she was talking. The only thing he had heard from her since Amy died were her cries. Any words from her were a blessing. “This wasn’t your fault,” he whispered. It was an accident. She got bitten as the herd came through. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. A feeling of guilt suddenly hits him. They had gone back for Merle and come back empty handed. It was a waste of trip. He didn’t care about the damn guns. If they had been there the camp would have been defended. If they had been there, maybe no one would have died. “We should have been here. We shouldn’t have gone back into the city.”

Andrea’s cries had died down to whimpers. Her entire body wanting to give out on her. She had no energy left to even roll away from the man that was comforting her. She wasn’t even sure her heart was still beating. She was positive it had stopped along with her sister’s. She wanted Amy. She wanted to be with Amy. Nothing was going to bring her back. And for once, the words Daryl said slipped through her grief. He was blaming himself. Blaming himself for something she was responsible for. He had his own issues to deal with. “You had to get Merle,” she whispered so softly he almost didn’t hear her. 

Daryl ran his fingertips along her arm. Putting his other hand over hers against his chest. Allowing her to feel his heart beat beneath their hands. Wanting her to feel another beating heart against her own. “Merle’s gone,” he muttered, pressing her hand tighter against his chest. 

Andrea tilted her head up. It was the first time he really saw her face. The blurry, red, swollen eyes. The red cheeks. The swollen lips from her constant biting. He saw nothing in her eyes that reminded him of the woman he had watched over the last few weeks. He no longer saw the fight that he once saw in those bright green eyes. He didn’t see anything. She had given up. She was already gone. But despite her own grief, she also hurt for him. He, too, had lost the only family he had left. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, laying her head back against his chest.

Daryl glanced out the window. The curtain blocking most of his view. He could see Dale watching the window from where he sat on the ground. His worried expression had never left. Daryl held up his hand and nodded. Letting him know she was okay before pulling the curtain closed. He didn’t want anyone seeing her until she was ready. It was going to be hard enough leaving the RV and facing everyone right before burying her sister. She didn’t need anyone in her face until she was ready for them. “We have to bury her soon, love,” he whispered in her ear as she buried her face in his neck. Amy had been dead for two days. She had sat by her sisters dead body for two days waiting for her to come back. 

Andrea let out a low, pained moan. She had to put her baby sister in the ground and cover her with dirt. She had to leave Amy behind. She had left her behind her entire life, and in her death she was still gonna be alone. Andrea still wouldn’t be there to protect her. But it was her responsibility. It was her sister. She deserved to be placed in the ground by someone that truly loved her. “I have to do it,” she sighed.

Daryl tapped a finger against her cheek. Wanting her to look at him on her own. Wanting her to make the choice to listen to his words and not the voices in her head. He knew those voices all too well. “No one touched her,” he assured her, once her eyes locked with him. Dale had placed a blanket over Amy’s body once Andrea had taken refuge inside the RV. Everyone wanted to go ahead and take her away, even Daryl. They wanted it finished so they could move on. Lori spoke up on her behalf. Encouraging them to leave her be. She could come out on her own and bury her sister on her own. She thought it would be disrespectful for them to make that decision without Andrea. 

Andrea nodded. Her entire body tense and sore from her gut wrenching sobs. Her heart so shattered, she barely felt Daryl’s touch on her skin. Her sorrow turning into a strange feeling of numbness. For once, Daryl understood exactly how she felt. He was mourning too. He was grieving the lose of a sibling too. “Everyone must think I’m insane,” she said with a little more energy than she had before. 

Daryl shook his head and smiled. Pulling the curtain aside, allowing her to see Dale still watching the window. Concern written all over his sunburned face. Daryl nudged back gently. Bring her closer into his body and closer to the window. “There’s an old man out there worrying himself to death wondering if you’re okay and a little Chinese boy that’s pacing back and forth like a tiger in a cage,” he said, watching her watch Dale. 

Andrea placed her fingers against the warm glass. Tracing his image. Dale didn’t move when he finally saw her face in the window. It was the first time he had seen her since she pulled the trigger. The first time cries weren’t piercing the camp. The question was in his eyes when he locked on to hers. She nodded, giving him a small smile before laying her head back down on Daryl’s chest. “He’s Korean...”

Daryl shook her gently. Feeling her body beginning to relax. He knew she was exhausted. She hadn’t slept in two days. But she couldn’t sleep. They needed to bury Amy before they left the quarry. “You ready to go out there?”

Andrea sighed against his chest. They had to leave. It wasn’t safe for them to stay there anymore. And she had to bury Amy. She couldn’t just leave her out there for those freaks to eat. “Life goes on right?” she paused for a moment, glancing up at him. “Just...”

Daryl pulled her closer. He knew exactly what she was gonna say. She didn’t want them all over her when they stepped outside. She didn’t want to answer questions. He understood. He didn’t have a body to bury. But he understood. “Don’t worry. I got your back,” he whispered into her hair.


End file.
